Daughter of Lir (Paperback)

To me, this was one of the best books Tarr's come out with lately. It's not underwritten, it's not boring (it all actually takes place in less than a decade, though only just), and although here and there the plot tries to go in too many directions at once, for the most part it works.

Tarr's books are romance novels with action and magic. Relations between men and women, often of different cultures, are central to nearly everything she writes. Readers who don't like this element are advised to stay away from her work--I'm usually not too fond of the romancey subgenres myself. However, she does it well; there's plenty of spice and both the female and male characters have depth and personality, though there's a little too much "war of the genders" phrasing for me. In Daughter of Lir, both Rhian and Minas, the foremost of several pairs in the book, are well-drawn, appealing people.

The historical recreation generally works well for me and the horse nomads are great -- I don't know if any actual historical or archaeological evidence supports Tarr's conception, but since it's such early history that doesn't seem indispensable here. I did find it a bit hard to believe that a strongly patriarchal tribe would have a "Year-King" ritual (which apparently is never performed except when the witchy antagonist needs to use it as a threat). Battle scenes are good, though here and there the plot structure gets confusing. The horses are wonderful--sometimes on the verge of being too anthropomorphic, but never sliding over. The fact that the matriarchal society is far from a utopia adds verisimilitude.

This well-written book keeps a good pace, and Tarr's academic credentials make her depiction of the cultures seem vividly real; even the use of magic (even more clearly an actual working force than in the previous books) seems to fit the novel. Tarr is especially skilled in depicting, with but a few words, deep and complex relationships between individuals without making it seem like vapid romance. Last of all, her style is an impeccably clean prose, not simplistic but simply very clear and unaffected by a desire to seem 'literary'. All in all, the novel was a joy to read.